Carly Rae Jepsen Live at Celebration Square, Mississauga (Canada Day)

This was very much uncalled for. With the weekend dog sitting job, I already accepted the fact I'd miss out on "Bucket-Girl" coming to the city I live in. Turns out that I was to not only able to see her live but be in a very CLOSE ENCOUNTER with her, thanks to the dog I was walking, living not too far from where the event took place. Asked my sister to wait for me behind the Celebration Square stage 'til I arrived back from dropping off the dog.

  She spotted her going into her then-unknown "Big, red, hockey truck" tour bus she tweeted. Everyone thought it was a tour bus for stage equipment when it was really Carly Rae Jepsen inside. If only I knew, I would have brought my Tug of War copy for her to sign. She comes out hours before her scheduled performance, probably for a quick sound check, and luckily came in VERY close contact with my sister and I, more so to my sister since I was behind the camera.



 Just as beautiful in person. Was suppose to ask her when her full-length second album was coming out. But man I gotta say, once I'm behind the camera, I'd be defaulted to a mode where you shouldn't speak and just record. That's exactly what I did, until my sister became star-struck speechless after receiving an autograph.

 Have to say after seeing her live, I'm further convinced of how well of an overall artist she is. I admit to have never seen a single performance of her on Canadian Idol so this was a nice-but-shouldn't-be surprise. She knows how to keep a consistent stage presence while entertaining the crowd. That I find very important in every artist. If they're not gonna pool off any dance moves, they should know how to move with the stage the very least.

 

 For the full set-list of songs she's performed, look/watch them here. Sadly not the best angle, having to switch between the live screen and herself.

  Though infectiously catchy, I'm still not afraid to say that 'Call Me Maybe' isn't a favorite of mine, being very "Pop" in contrast with her previous Folk LP Tug of War. This isn't to say she's not good with or shouldn't do pop, just that I find her previous work more 'respectable' with better song writing. When I'd recommend friends to her with 'Bucket' back in the day, they'd easily disregard it calling her a 'small time Canadian artist'. Of course now that Call Me Maybe has gone viral worldwide, everyone now loves her. Not to mention, people don't know how to appreciate FREE CONCERTS these days. You have people screaming "SING CALL ME MAYBE ALREADY" while moaning at her Tug of War hits. Would people rather have her perform that one hit and leave right away or stay for a set of songs? And did I mention it was FREE? They should be happy that of all the cities to celebrate Canada Day, she came to Mississauga. Not Toronto or her home town in Vancouver, but Mississauga.

   I am amazed at how she went from just releasing music in Canada to being this world wide phenomenon, currently sitting at no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. What a milestone. If anyone deserves it, it's her. Though I'm looking forward to her second album, I'm a bit  startled with the fact she's collaborating with one of the L.MFAO's in writing one of her songs.

 I enjoyed seeing her live. If anyone were to see her live, they'd know she's not your generic spoiled autotune artist when she does indeed sing. A bit upset that I didn't get a good angle for recording the concert when I had the chance but I'm grateful for that close encounter, even though some girl decided to stand tall in the way, blocking the view during 'Bucket'. A bit surprised that my mom too was able to grab an autograph from her - jeez! Anyway, lovely lady she was. Expecting great things from her in the future :)